Various tools are used to polish and file nails or to remove rough skin. Metallic files and scrapers, abrasive paper-based files, or products manufactured from glass are currently becoming more and more popular. Compared to products of other materials, these offer several advantages, the most important one being the possibility of their cleaning and elimination of unfavorable impact on the filed nail, i.e., no nail fraying occurs. Glass files satisfy the high hygienic demands relating to all cosmetic procedures—this is very important for their use in public facilities. Various technologies of nail file roughing exist—the abrasive surfaces of the first nail files were achieved by mechanical roughing. Chemical surface etching is frequently used. In this case, a strip of glass is first roughened by chemical etching and subsequently hardened. The abrasive surface roughness is 10 to 100 micrometers. Also nail files with very fine surfaces below 10 micrometers have been manufactured thanks to subsequently used glass hardening technology. Such products have a substantial disadvantage—large volumes of hazardous chemicals are used in the production process. Considering the increasingly strict conditions of hygienic regulations and occupational safety issues, the costs of corresponding workplace quality assurance, and in particular the costs relating to disposal of used chemicals, are significant. It is generally known that the technological process of surface etching is based on the chemical interaction between hydrofluoric acid and fluorides on the surface of the glass element. Achieving various roughness levels on the same product is a complicated process. The disadvantage of extra-fine nail files is that their surface is often clogged by the ground material.
Alternative methods of surface roughing are based on fixing various sand types to the glass surface by acid or on fine sands fixing with glue and subsequent hardening with UV light. However, this method does not guarantee the required product quality. Sooner or later the abrasive surface is worn-off during usage and the nail file loses its function.